The second greatest TV show of all time is coming back with a third movie: "Bender’s Game." And the trailer is on YouTube!
For some reason, they are releasing it November 4th! Maybe they expect Nixon’s head to get elected.
The last movie was pretty funny (much better than the uneven first one), and this one looks like it’s back to usual incredibly intelligent and funny Futurama that I worship, in a totally scientific and secular way. The spaceship demolition derby made me laugh pretty hard… because of one of the ships shown.
Man, I love those guys.
Tip o’ the Slurm to io9.
October 29th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
Wow. Futurama? Second best TV show ever? Really?
Phil- I think all the E-trade commercials (you know, the one where the guy who looks just like Phil is like “I just made a trade in Hong Kong. That’s China!” even though everyone knows Hong Kong is in China… ok I’m currently babbling but that guy looks just like Phil except less cool) have messed with your usually-awesome astronomical/skeptical brain.
I think I’m just bitter because Futurama ruined the Simpsons. When did Futurama debut? 2000. When did the Simpsons start to suck? 1999-2000. Coincidence? I think not.
October 30th, 2008 at 12:04 am
I’ve been rewatching all of the Futurama tv episodes now that the movies have started coming out and I have to say that it’s gotten better with age. Or perhaps, because *I* have aged they’ve gotten better!
FREAKING hilarious. If you haven’t watched the TV series in a while, I recommend you pick it up with your 300 tricky-dick fun bucks. These episodes are SO re-watchable compared to Family Guy or The Simpsons.
Favourite character? Zoidberg. Absolutely hilarious. I know some people like Bender’s “in-your-face-attitude”, but Zoidberg’s always been my man…. er… lobster… thing…
The series is definitely better than the pseudo-movies, but I’m awaiting the next two with bated breath all the same!
October 30th, 2008 at 12:11 am
Looks like fun, although I’m not a fan of the show :-/
October 30th, 2008 at 12:31 am
“Young lady… fetch me that sandwich out of the dumpster — and leave the maggots on. Woop woop-woop woop… woop.”
October 30th, 2008 at 12:45 am
Futurama is awesome, but I liked it better in episodic format rather than in movie format cut up into episodes. I hope Comedy Central will commission some stand-alone episodes.
October 30th, 2008 at 12:45 am
Hey, that must mean that Phil agrees with me! Battlestar Galactica (2003) is the BEST TV show ever!
October 30th, 2008 at 12:57 am
I gave up on TV after Futurama left me for some cable floozy, and as soon as time had heeled my wounds enough to get me started in another committed relationship, Arrested Development (Best Show Ever) abandoned me and just went quietly into the night.
I am looking forward to the 24-hour snow-show scheduled for February 2009. She will never leave me!
October 30th, 2008 at 2:29 am
2>1? I think not Phil. I thought the first one was much better – and for a time-travel story, rather consistent. The first movie had a lot of jokes that flowed well from the story, whereas the second one seemed to be a collection of jokes inserted into the story. That isn’t to say the second one sucked, I just thought it was lacking – well as far as Futurama goes. That, and I like the whole “meanwhile – 1000 years ago” stories that Furuama pulls off, like the one with Fry’s dog. However, the second movie has perhaps my favourite joke in Futurama history, the 2d line segment joke. I giggle just thinking about it.
Either way, I am really excited for Bender’s Game. I too hope they bring it back, but I won’t hold my breath. I do find it hard to believe that some of the cable stations wouldn’t profit by picking it up though.
October 30th, 2008 at 3:23 am
Am I the only one that thought the second movie was just a mess of plot holes? How big is Yivo, for instance? The size of a planet, the size of a planet large enough to hold the entire population of this universe, or around 40 feet across, depending on what the scene required… ad how does the entire population of the universe fit on Benders pirate ship at the end? You can do just so much to my suspension-of-disbelief, and then it breaks. And this was just stupid.
October 30th, 2008 at 3:43 am
The drawing looks weird. Fry and the others don’t look quite right compared to the earlier episodes. Have they changed animators?
October 30th, 2008 at 5:00 am
The LM attempting to squish the Omicronian ship was pretty good too…
October 30th, 2008 at 5:11 am
@Bigfoot – Nah.. He must mean Space 1999. I swear I saw an Eagle in there.
And Lego ships.
(and I think his number 1 is still Dr Who).
And… and… More to spend money on. 
P
October 30th, 2008 at 5:40 am
I agree with Matt. The second was too inconsistent. It may had more laughs per minute. But during rewatch, that is not what counts. But its plot was a lot more episodic as it was in the first.
I realise that the writers are under limitations by FOX Home Entertainment, that their films are to be split into four episodes to be sold to Comedy Central.
But the plot in the first was so beautiful executed and wrapped up. There were too many holes and skipped parts in the second. This is why I prefer the first over the second.
But having watched the first one already (I am not going to reveal anything, don’t worry), it has more of the consistent plot that the first had (not as beautiful, but still consistent), and a lot more of the laughs per minute that the second had.
So the third is so far my favourite. But I am still looking forward to that last one.
And then? Marathon!
October 30th, 2008 at 6:16 am
Speaking of Nixon’s head… I was watching the pregame show for the VP debate, and someone in the background was holding up a sign reading “Nixon’s Head ‘08!”. I wonder how many people who saw that had any idea what it was about…
October 30th, 2008 at 6:38 am
Look, another simple proof for goldbach’s conjecture! *high five*
October 30th, 2008 at 6:49 am
Futurama is so well written… even its suckier episodes stand up well compared to other animated series. It’s so much better than the Simpsons, which has been running in place most of its time on the air. Whether that is due to Futurama as one commenter suggested I don’t know. And Andrew Bolton, imo the shifting of suspension of disbelief in the name of convenience (The size of Yivo, as you pointed out) is immaterial, at least to me. It’s a cartoon, not a documentary. Hence, the Planet Express is powered by high-tech dark matter that is shoveled like coal into a rickety boiler. To me part of the appeal of Futurama is precisely the intentional (or unintentional) misattention to detail and accuracy. Like all good shows, it’s good because of the smart dialog and the ability to make you care about the characters (even though, in this case, the characters are animated). Like you, I noticed Yivo’s size discrepancy… and it totally didn’t matter to me. Of course, it’s all a matter of opinion.
October 30th, 2008 at 7:38 am
I always liked Tripping The Rift far more (they also released a movie this year, btw), though Bender’s Game does look somewhat entertaining.
October 30th, 2008 at 7:39 am
WTF are you people saying? Simpsons are real people and this Futurama stuff is just silly. There are no one-eyed beings in space. Geeze…
October 30th, 2008 at 8:24 am
Really? I thought the simpsons were cartoons.
and who knows..there MIGHT be one-eyed beings somewhere in space.
October 30th, 2008 at 9:02 am
What’s next? “Loudspeaker for the Dead”?
October 30th, 2008 at 9:47 am
Woot! How de we play Craps wit D&D dice? Sounds like fun
October 30th, 2008 at 9:50 am
Wow, I only just got the Ender’s game reference.
I lose at Sci Fi
October 30th, 2008 at 10:00 am
I’m a huge Futurama fan. I have all of the DVDs and watch one practically every day (even after all these years).
However, I must emphasize in the strongest terms: The recently released movies are TERRIBLE. Simply terrible. Not many laughs. No compelling storyline (even with cartoon standards…I’m not expecting Oscar material). I was very disappointed. Plus, they seem to be getting worse: the 2nd movie was twice as bad as the first. I don’t have much hope for the third or fourth installments.
I know a huge amount of fans feel the same way. Perhaps a majority, perhaps not; I haven’t conducted a survey. I just see way more negative opinions than positive ones.
October 30th, 2008 at 10:03 am
The “Tripping the Rift” movie REALLY sucked. Just horrible, especially compared to the series.
I liked the 2nd “Futurama” movie better than the first, and the third looks to be even better yet. So what’s his notion of the best show?
October 30th, 2008 at 11:23 am
So let’s see…
Lot’s of D&D inside humor that I won’t get and don’t want to.
A pun title that gives a nod to Orson Scott Card, the ultra right-wing LDS author I don’t read and don’t want to.
I’ll wait for the SciFi channel airing. So far, feature length “Simpsons” and “Futurama” efforts have been like poorly edited standard episodes that run too long for the funny content.
October 30th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Putting it on my netflix queue… I”ll just have to time the movie I send back so I get it on Wednesday…
As to the other comment about Simpsons going downhill as soon as Futurama started, that is NO coincidence, as that’s about the time Mike Scully and Al Jean took over running the show (http://www.slate.com/id/2078501/).
Hope Futurama never gets to that point.
My kids love Futurama so much that my 1 year old son shouts “OMMA” at the TV screen when it’s not showing. I still find things I missed the first few times I watched each episode.
October 30th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
I definitely liked the first Futurama movie a lot better as well. The first one had a great story where everything came together, while the second one was just a collection of all sorts of random stuff which didn’t make sense and it felt cobbled together out of the writers’ scraps.
October 30th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Take that Beethoven you deaf bastard
October 30th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Benders Big Score was WAY better than Billion Backs. Man that was horrible (in Futurama standards, that is.) i hope this one is better. Seems difficult to tell from the trailer alone.
Futurama is awesome tho, and I’m always happy there is more.
October 31st, 2008 at 7:45 pm
“For some reason, they are releasing it November 4th! Maybe they expect Nixon’s head to get elected.”
Ha ha Phil! That’s too funny! My birthday is Nov. 4, 1968! The day Nixon was elected!
November 2nd, 2008 at 12:43 am
Phil, you’re the man. But seriously… the first movie was WAY better than the last one. And David Cross is one of my favorite comedians, but not even his participation could fix that mess of a story.
November 2nd, 2008 at 9:04 am
Exactly what Dziban said. The movies suck, and the 2nd more than the 1st. I own all the TV episodes and would happily rewatch them, but I regret owning both the movie DVDs. I’ll rent #3 eventually, but I’m in no rush to see it.
November 3rd, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Pop: “There are no one-eyed beings in space. Geeze…”
Leela: “No, I’m a mutant born in the sewars. I only work in space. Geeze…”
Also, is it too much to point out that opinions about entertainment are subjective, and you are no better or worse than another person for liking or not liking something? (unless that thing is Armaggedon of course)